Chickens wobbly, falling over, and dying

[Toodles]

I need help! I've had 5 chickens ages almost 2 to almost 5 years plus 3 less than a year old seem fine, then they start falling over, having balance problems. If I pick them up from being unable to get up on their own they seem fine again until they fall over and can't get up. I've had chickens for over 10 years and never encountered this issue. I know at least one of these died from being pecked in the head. She developed symptoms immediately and died within a few hours. I've lost 5 chickens since early November.

All my chickens quit laying around late July and haven't laid since. One of the Banty Silkies laid for 2 weeks after I got her then quit and hasn't laid since.

Wondering if it could be Marek's??? I was given 4 Banty chicks that my friend had hatched and raised. I got them last August, they were 10 weeks to several months old. This problem with flock started about 10-12 weeks later.

I'm wondering if the lack of eggs is also due to whatever is causing the other problem.

 

[CapricornFarm]

It might be. Have you examined all the chickens? Look under wings, around vents. Are their combs red or pale? Have they been dewormed? If you post pictures it might help people determine what is wrong. Also describe their living conditions, again pictures help.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi. I'm so sorry for your losses.
Your description certainly sounds like it could be Marek's and the time scale from introducing the new birds to seeing an outbreak is about right. It is less common for mature birds to get it but I think perhaps that is because, if they have been exposed to it from an early age, they would either have succumbed to it as adolescents or be resistant. Silkies are particularly susceptible to Marek's so she could be the source. Birds with it can appear perfectly healthy for months (thereby defying quarantine) and then suddenly start exhibiting symptoms.
Have you considered sending a dead bird off for a necropsy or even doing an informal one yourself. Often it is possible to find the deadly tumours which might add weight to the Marek's diagnosis. There are threads here on BYC where we share and discuss our own necropsy photos and bounce ideas off each other as to the probably cause and we can usually identify what is normal and what is not from a good photo.

The lack of eggs is almost certainly due to the time of year, particularly if most of your laying flock are 18months+.

 

[micstrachan]

Just to help rule other things out, is there a toxin they could be getting into?

 

[Toodles]

There's no toxin they could have gotten into. Another one was dead this morning. She fell over on Monday, I got her up and she seemed fine ever since except not roosting up high at night, she stayed down on the floor of the coop. I think on most of the affected chickens their combs were a little pale. They haven't been wormed but all their droppings have been normal. No eggs from any of them since July, the exception being a young Silkie I got in August who laid in August and a few times in September then abruptly quit laying. The symptoms almost seem to be neurological.

 

[micstrachan]

Is there a teflon coated heat lamp in the coop?

 

[Toodles]

I have a regular red floodlight on a timer in the coop. I used it last year fall to spring with no issues and started using it again this past October. How would I tell if it's teflon coated?

 

[micstrachan]

You would need to look at the box. If it’s shatter resistant, I believe it is teflon coated. There is a long thread on the forums from someone else who lost a bunch of birds rather quickly and discovered it was teflon poisoning from the bulb.

 

[Toodles]

After reading your question regarding the teflon, I just read part of that thread. I just checked the box my light came in. It's a regular Westinghouse red 100w floodlight. It doesn't say anything about being shatter resistant on the box. The only other thing we can think of is that we've caught one of the Barred Rocks pecking at the heads of the other chickens. We're sure one death was caused by a banty getting pecked by several hens at once. She exhibited symptoms of a head injury and dies within a few hours.

 

[rebrascora]

It is as likely if not more so, that the banty got pecked because she was sick. Chickens will try to drive out a sick bird to protect the rest of the flock. Or the stress of being picked on could have triggered the Marek's attack. What do you mean by "exhibited symptoms of a head injury"?
I'm afraid with multiple birds displaying neurological symptoms, Marek's is the logical diagnosis. It is so common and widespread a virus that you are almost lucky if your flock don't have it.